A splendid circle of twenty-three islands, Nord Nilandhe Atoll is an incredible place to dive. With more than forty named dive sites, it is simply splendid, and is one of the best places to get a taste of all that diving in the Maldives offers. With so many wonderful sites to choose from, it can be hard to begin planning your itinerary. Here are just ten of the best to help you on your way.
Lighthouse Channel
Tall thilas covered in sponges and sea fans fade into the distance, as huge schools of passing pelagics captivate your attention. This dive site is challenging and suitable for experienced divers only, as maximum depth inside the channel is 45 meters and the current is roaring most of the time. These same aspects though, make it top-notch for viewing grey reef sharks, barracuda, jacks, and even schooling eagle rays on just about every dive.
Bodu Beru
An idyllic site which is perfect for all divers, Bodu Beru is well protected from the current and is a photographer’s dream come true. Brilliant sponges and anemones, plus a magnificent coral garden create the perfect habitat for sponges and flatworms, snails and juvenile fish, while overhangs and small caves shelter shoaling fusiliers, snappers, and glassfish. There are even cleaner stations here, where wrasse and shrimp tend to their much larger customers. All this activity takes place in water between 2 and 27 meters deep, and as with other sites nearby, visibility is excellent.
Jumping Jack Channel
With seven thilas blanketed in coral and sponges creating a backdrop for some incredible pelagic activity, this site features maximum depth at 35 meters, and offers gentle currents most of the time, which makes it suitable for intermediate divers. Look for white tipped reef sharks, schooling barracuda, tuna, and even schooling eagle rays passing in the blue, and don’t forget to take a close look at the thilas, where the variety of life that clings to them is simply amazing.
Coral Garden
Simply splendid, and with maximum depth at just 25 meters, the Coral Garden is suitable for all divers and is normally free from currents. The sponges are spectacularly colorful, with tiny shrimp and nudibranchs, swirling schools of glassfish, jungfish, and anthias in attendance. Not only will you find plenty of reef fish in a kaleidoscope of colors that rival that of the garden itself, you’re likely to encounter eagle rays and stingrays, and even white tip reef sharks and the occasional guitar shark.
Seven Stingrays
A fantastic dive with depths ranging from 8 meters at the top of the main thila to 15 meters in the channel, this site is named for the thilas which are arranged in a line. You’ll often find stingrays here, along with eagle rays and barracuda, plus shoaling jacks, barracuda, and other fish. The thilas themselves are covered in splendid growth, but the pelagics passing through the area are the stars of the show. There is often a bit of a current, but during very calm weather, this site is suitable for all divers.
Filitheyo Tila
A very fishy site, and only hospitable to divers when the currents are calm, Filitheyo Tila offers a vantage point for viewing an incredible comingling of species, large and small. Here, eagle rays soar while blue fin jacks and tuna, mackerels, and big napoleons swim fin to fin with white tip reef sharks and the occasional gang of grey sharks. Between these larger occupants, colorful neon fusiliers and gold-backed fusiliers, plus swathes of shimmering baitfish create a curtain of life which is sometimes so thick it blocks the light from above. Depths here range for 14 to 33 meters, and under normal conditions, the site is suitable for intermediate divers and up.
Wallstreet
Located south of Filitheyo, Wall Street is the house reef for the island of Biledhdhoo. With depths between 2 and 22 meters, and just enough current to keep the fish coming, it is suitable for all divers. The topography is fascinating, with overhangs and caves that shelter a variety of creatures large and small. Covered in colorful hard and soft corals, sponges, and anemones, the site is perfect for photography. Cleaner wrasse and shrimp help keep the reef’s larger occupants parasite free, and shoaling fusiliers and blue striped snappers tempt hunting barracuda and jacks. Look for tuna and sharks, too.
Road to Paradise
This channel dive is simply fantastic, particularly when the southeast currents are running. Beginning east of the Dharboodhoo house reef and south of the atoll, an easy drift among eagle rays and schooling perch leads to massive coral heads sitting in 25 to 35 meters of water. With caves covered in soft coral and anemone, the site is home to rock cod and large groupers, as well as a beautiful array of colorful reef fish and smaller creatures.
Kudafalhu
Also known as Manta Point, this faru is located north a massive 300 meter wide channel. Located to the west of the atoll, this site requires a full day trip to dive, but don’t let that stop you. It is simply incredible. With its top at 5 meters and the sandy seabed at 25 meters, this spectacular reef is home to enormous shoals of fish, huge napoleons, and lots of hungry turtles, which graze on the sponges and soft coral that cover it. Suitable for all divers, the site is also home to quite a few cleaner wrasse, which have set up competing cleaner stations for the enjoyment of the reef’s many larger occupants. Suitable for all divers, Kudafalhu is an excellent place to see manta rays between December and May, and whale sharks are encountered here, as well.
Kika
Perfect for all divers, and ideal for photography, Kika is located south of Filitheyo, within the protected area of the atoll. This faru is 300 meters long and features a wall peppered with overhangs, which begins in 4 meters of water and meets the seabed at depths between 25 and 28 meters. Big blocks of coral rise up from the sand here too, creating shelter for an almost unimaginable array of juvenile pelagics and reef fish. Look out into the blue as you explore – flights of eagle rays and groups of stingrays, white tip reef sharks, and shoals of pelagic fish are seen with regularity.
The best time to dive Nilandhe Atoll is between December and May, although you can dive here all year round. The resorts are fantastic and dive operators are friendly. Be sure to plan in advance as space is limited, particularly during the high season when manta rays and whale sharks can be seen.